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The present invention relates to wall mountable electrically activated fumigation devices. It appears to be especially well suited for use in permitting such devices to be compatible with electric sockets having varied alignments relative to the wall.
Devices are known for fumigating an enclosed area, such as a room in a house, by expelling a fumigant (e.g. typically an insecticide or fragrance) upon an application of heat. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,914, some of these devices include a disposable canister containing the fumigant, and an electric heater positioned under the fumigant. When activated the device produces a fog that is expelled out to fumigate a room or the like.
Before the application of heat the fumigant typically is in a solid form. It subsequently transforms into a viscous gel material in response to the initial introduction of heat. As a result, it is desirable to direct the mouths of such devices at least partially upwardly to prevent the gel from spilling. While further heating will produce the fog, during the gel phase there is a spilling potential.
Further complicating matters, on a vertical wall blade sockets can be side by side, or alternatively one over the other. One previous fumigation device includes a canister/housing assembly whose orientation is fixed with respect to the electrical plug. As a result, the mouth of the canister faces vertically upwardly when the plug is inserted in side by side blade holes, but horizontally when the blade holes are one on top of the other. Thus, this system is not compatible with the latter type of blade hole configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,914 provided an improved device having a plug mounted on an angle with respect to the housing, thus allowing the mouth to be positioned at least somewhat upwardly (regardless of the orientation of the electrical outlet). One potential disadvantage of this device is that the orientation of the mouth of the canister is fixed with respect to the electrical plugs. This limits the level of fumigant in the canister to some extent, as well as restricts the angle that the outlet may be pointed at.
A need still exists for greater flexibility in the structures used to mount such electric fumigation devices on walls.
In one aspect the invention provides an electric fumigation device. It has a housing including a delivery port, a canister disposed within the housing and defining a cavity having a mouth in communication with the delivery port, the cavity containing a heat-activatable fumigant, and a heating assembly.
The heater has an electrical plug extending outwardly from the housing configured to be received by an electrical outlet. There is a heating device disposed in the housing and extending along a longitudinal axis. The heating device is in electrical communication with the electrical plug and in thermal communication with the canister. The housing is rotatable about the longitudinal axis around the heating assembly.
In preferred forms, the heating device extends at least partially between walls of the canister, the electrical plug defines a lateral axis, and the housing extends along an axis that is at an adjustable angle with respect to the lateral axis. The adjustable angle can preferably be between 0 and 90 degrees.
The canister rotates along with the housing with respect to the heating assembly (about the longitudinal axis of the heating assembly). The canister can extend essentially perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis, or it can extend along the axis, and/or an outlet portion thereof can extend at an angle.
In other preferred forms there is an air gap disposed between the canister and housing, and a vent formed in the housing in fluid communication with the air gap.
In another aspect the invention provides a method of fumigating an area in which an electrical receptacle is mounted on a wall with a fumigating active ingredient. One provides an electrically activatable device of the above kind. One then plugs the fumigating device into the electrical receptacle and allows electricity from the electrical receptacle to cause a release of the active ingredient.
The present invention thus achieves mounting flexibility by fixing the heater core and plug with respect to the wall. It allows the canister and housing to rotate around the core as needed. Because the housing and canister are preferably not linked by wiring to the heater, there is no risk of wiring becoming tangled due to the rotation. Further, because the connection between the housing and heater is a frictioned connection, once the rotational position of the housing and canister are adjusted by the consumer, it will stay fixed during use.
Placing the heater between canister walls insures better thermal transfer, renders the design more compact, and reduces excess heat reaching the outer housing. This can be achieved by placing the heater between legs of the canister, or by inserting the heater in a donut hole tube of the canister.
The foregoing and other advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof, and in which there is shown by way of illustration, and not limitation, preferred embodiments of the invention. Such embodiments do not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention. Reference must therefore be made to the claims herein for interpreting the scope of the invention.